Tonight, we’ll know the who, when, and where as to the four weeks of preseason action. In roughly a week, we’ll know one critical factor as to the 17 weeks of regular-season contests: The when.

All opponents for all teams became known when the 2017 season ended. But filling in the when — especially as it relates to prime-time games and big events like Thanksgiving — will be a major news event the sports world, to the likely dismay of the other sports that actually will have meaningful events next week.

Oladipo said Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert provided him with extra motivation, citing his offseason remark that Indiana should have received better talent from Oklahoma City in return for Paul George. You could say it added fuel to the fire, Oladipo said. I’m aware of what he said. Can’t control his opinion.

Jordan Raanan of ESPN noted the release saves the Giants $5.2 million in cap space.

The 34-year-old UCF product finished the 2017 season on injured reserve after suffering an ankle injury in October that required surgery.

Marshall told Ralph Vacchiano of SNY in December he was close to getting full clearance and planned to play for at least a couple more seasons.

I think I’m two great years away from … and I’ll say it: I want to be a Hall of Famer, he said. And I think I got two great years to go to be mentioned with some of the greats. I’m not playing this game just to be a guy. I want to be remembered for the product that I put on the field.

Marshall failed to make much of an impact during his only year with the Giants. He caught 18 passes for 154 yards with no touchdowns in five appearances.

Mattingly, a former Yankees captain, pulled Garcia after 77 pitches against the Mets last Wednesday, saying it was an easy decision because the 25-year-old lefty, a rookie reliever last season, never would have been left in long enough to finish a no-hitter.

Garcia was far less efficient this time, throwing only 48 of 92 pitches for strikes while earning his second career win. But he put together a streak of 10 1/3 hitless innings against New York teams and still hasn’t given up a run as a big league starter.

Rodgers is due to count just over $20.5 million against the salary cap in 2018 and $21.1 million in 2019. Those aren’t small numbers, but his 2018 hit is set to be the 17th biggest in the NFL — a steal for a player who is arguably the league’s most impactful.

Like Cousins in Washington, the prospect of a franchise tag or free agency leaves a franchise quarterback little reason to accept anything less than a record-breaking contract. If Green Bay hopes to lock down Rodgers with a new deal, it needs to do so now before he reaches a contract year.

Otherwise, the Packers would be wise to begin grooming his replacement. It would be a prudent move, but likely wouldn’t ease the tensions between the team and Rodgers.

And, according to the Yahoo report, the team also isn’t do itself any favors by icing Rodgers out of personnel decisions.

The AFC South has gained a reputation as the least compelling division in football, but the 2018 season could help reverse that narrative.

For starters, the Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a revelatory 10-6 finish in 2017 that paved the way for the franchise’s third AFC Championship Game appearance.

Needless to say, they’ll be the favorites to take home the division crown again. They wield the NFL’s nastiest defense—one that allowed a paltry 16.8 points per game last season—and the offense appears primed for a boost following the arrivals of pass-catchers Donte Moncrief and Austin Seferian-Jenkins.

However, the Jaguars won’t be in for a cakewalk.

The Houston Texans—who were ravaged by injuries last season—have a chance to reclaim their throne atop the AFC South with quarterback Deshaun Watson and edge-rushers J.J. Watt and Whitney Mercilus all on the mend following abbreviated 2017 campaigns.

Rob Gronkowski Has Been Hanging Out With A Bikini Model Instead Of Football

Rob Gronkowski’s future is still in doubt and he elected to skip the start of OTAs, but he has been a busy man.

He has been hanging out with a familiar friend SI model Camille Kostek near the water. Kostek was a former Patriots cheerleader and was rumored to be in a relationship with Gronk over a year ago.

Last week Kostek shared a photo of the two hanging out on jetskies.

Wall remains confident in Washington’s role players and their ability to potentially turn the tables in Game 2. Washington’s second unit could get a boost from veteran point guard Ty Lawson, who was signed last week after playing overseas in China.

We had a lot of open ones we missed. I had a few, John had a few, everybody, Beal said. The first game is out of the way, jitters out of the way, whatever it is, we can just go out and focus on us and play ball. We know how they are going to play and how they are going to adjust. First game is over.

To have an outside edge rusher that can be as dominant as Ziggy is something that was really appealing to Matt, Quinn said at last week’s meeting with season ticket holders. Matt has had a lot of great players in New England and I think Ziggy would rank right up there with some of the best edge players Matt has ever coached.

Ansah skipped last week’s voluntary conditioning, opting to stay in his home country of Ghana to attend to a family matter. A team source confirmed to The Detroit News that the player remained in constant communication with the organization throughout the process, including Patricia.

At the same time, I remember vividly the success of Dontrelle Willis in 2003 and for a few years beyond, so I’m not ruling out the possibility that it’ll take some time for hitters to catch up to Lucchesi (though Willis’ delivery was a little funkier, since I’m drawing that comparison).

Throw in the fact that there’s a pitch-classification debate with Lucchesi — depending upon your source, he throws a four-seam fastball, sinker, curveball and/or changeup, with my opinion being that they’re actually only the latter three — and it’s clear there’s a lot of unknown at play with him, and therefore a lot of paths for him to sustain mixed-league relevance thanks to his good raw stuff combined with excellent control.

If Bradford should want revenge against anything, it would probably be his knees. But that doesn’t feel like a healthy way to go through life.

As of this writing, Bryant has yet to land with another team, but he’s made no secret of his wish to remain in the NFC East so as to provide maximum revenge opportunity against Garrett guys and the rest of the Dallas Cowboys. Bryant believes sinister forces conspired to end his storied run in Big D. Peak revenge subplot here, people.

She said they thought Keelan is very sweet and that they are happy she finally got a puck, Lauren said. That Brett was very determined to get it to her. They also said they want to send her a little gift once Brett returns from Columbus, to thank her for being a good sport and supporting the team.

On Monday, Keelan’s first-grade teacher showed the class the video. On Tuesday, Keelan brought her puck to school for show and tell.

That news will stoke the controversy regarding the Seahawks’ dealings with Colin Kaepernick, whom they canceled a workout with when he wouldn’t commit to standing for the anthem. Kaepernick, the first NFL player to kneel for the national anthem, has been out of the NFL for more than a year. Kaepernick is alleging that NFL owners have illegally colluded to keep him out of the league.

Morris arrived in the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Miami in 2014 and has never appeared in a regular-season game. He obviously lacks the credentials of Kaepernick, whom Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has admitted is good enough to be an NFL starter. But if Morris will stand for the anthem, he won’t bring the negative attention that Kaepernick will bring.

The Warriors opened the third on a 19-5 run to take charge but this time the Spurs didn’t go away.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich went with Gay in the starting lineup for Kyle Anderson in an effort to generate more scoring — and his team still struggled to make shots.

Popovich said before the game that Golden State in Game 1 played the most stifling defense we faced all year long. That was the best defensive 48 minutes that we have competed against all year long.

Penn State Nittany Lions running back Saquon Barkley, one of the top prospects in the 2018 NFL draft, reportedly told a friend he wants to play the role of LeBron James for the Cleveland Browns.

On Wednesday, Ian O’Connor of ESPN.com provided comments from Barkley’s longtime friend Kayla Cunningham about his desire to help turn around the struggling franchise.

Red Sox: Rick Porcello (3-0, 1.83 ERA) took a no-hitter into the seventh inning of his last start against the Yankees. He has won five straight decisions since last September. He also has thrown a complete game in each of his last two starts in Anaheim.

Angels: Tyler Skaggs (2-0, 1.69 ERA) makes the fourth start of his promising season after getting pushed back due to the Kansas City weather. The left-hander hasn’t yielded more than two runs in a start this year.

Left tackle Eric Fisher and right tackle Mitchell Schwartz are back for the Chiefs. They also have former Browns first-round pick Cameron Erving as a backup option after acquiring him in a trade last August.

As part of the Jackie Robinson Day tribute, all fans at Dodger Stadium received a Jackie Robinson jersey. All players wore his No. 42 on the anniversary of the date the Brooklyn great broke baseball’s color barrier on April 15, 1947. Don Newcombe, a former Robinson teammate, was in the stands with Hall of Famer Frank Robinson.

Diamondbacks: RHP Taijuan Walker was put on the 10-day DL with inflammation of the right forearm. The Diamondbacks recalled RHP Silvino Bracho from Triple-A Reno. Walker came out of Saturday’s game after two innings with discomfort. He will undergo a MRI in Arizona on Monday.

The social network run by Mark Zuckerberg announced Friday that it reached a deal with Major League Baseball for exclusive Web-streaming rights to 25 games this season.

The Giants have one punter on their roster, rookie Austin Rehkow from Idaho, who was signed to a reserve/future contract. They will not go into training camp with only one unproven punter. It looks as if the Giants will go into 2018 with a new punter and kicker, because Aldrick Rosas endured an inconsistent rookie season and a veteran is expected to be added.

We spoke at length about many of the issues that face our community, including systemic oppression against people of color, police brutality and the criminal justice system, Reid detailed in his piece. We also discussed how we could use our platform, provided to us by being professional athletes in the N.F.L., to speak for those who are voiceless.

Martin, 26, is the second linebacker added by the Giants. They traded with the Rams last week to acquire Alec Ogletree, who becomes an immediate starter as an inside linebacker. Martin will likely be part of a playing rotation, as he is a defensive lineman-sized 6-foot-6 and 272 pounds. That is the desired size for an outside linebacker in the 3-4 defensive front Bettcher prefers and brings to the Giants as their new defensive coordinator.

You talk to quarterbacks, and they say if a D-end gets on the edge, that’s fine, they can step up in the pocket and they can throw, a lot of quarterbacks if given the opportunity can do that. That’s what I give is a pocket to step up in, and I think I also help the offense establish the run through my nastiness, and establishing the run also opens up the passing game, so I think it’s a good choice.

Nelson, who said he considers himself a Jersey guy, grew up as a Giants fan and met with them this week. He said he had not yet met with the Jets.

Asked to describe his mindset, Nelson delivered an answer that will make coaches smile.

As a blocker, my mindset is being dominant, Nelson said. I want to dominate all my opponents and take their will away to play the game by each play and finishing them past the whistle.

Sherman played an integral role in the fierce NFC West rivalry between Seattle and San Francisco earlier this decade. His deflection on a potential game-winning touchdown pass in the 2013 NFC championship game against the 49ers led to an interception that sent the Seahawks to the Super Bowl, which they won.

Jerry Jones will testify Monday in NFL’s effort to force him to pay legal fees

The man who is being pursued for more than $2 million in legal fees will get his chance to tell his side of the story in the quasi-legal proceeding arising from the effort to make him pay.

Via Clarence Hill of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said at the Scouting Combine that he will testify on Monday in the appeal hearing arising from the seven-figure assessment imposed by the league office. Hill notes that Jones will testify before Commissioner Roger Goodell, which means that Goodell has not opted to exercise his authority to designate the appeal to someone else.

Resolution FC-6 gives the Commissioner final and binding power to resolve the amount of legal fees to be paid. The resolution, however, does not expressly grant Goodell the authority to answer the threshold question of whether club behavior triggered a repayment obligation. Goodell presumably will take the position that he has final say in that regard, too.

However it plays out, this entire escapade highlights one of the concerns Jones raised when pushing back against Goodell’s extension: The Commissioner has too much power, and common sense suggests that the power is about to be exercised in a manner that at least in part reflects a desire to extract a pound of flesh from Jones.

First, despite the relative simplicity of the rookie wage scale, players selected in the first round need to be able to navigate certain nuances and hot spots in the draft order relevant to offset language, guaranteed pay, cash flow, and other structural devices.

Second, a good agent will get the rookie the best possible pre-draft training, ensuring that the player is ready for the various aspects of the pre-draft workouts that follow, and a good agent will cover those expenses.

Third, a good agent will advise the player on whether and to what extent to engage in Scouting Combine activities, and whether and to what extent to engage in pre-draft team visits and private workouts. A good agent will prepare the player regarding what to say and how to say it when meeting with teams. A good agent will serve as the buffer between the player and teams that may not be happy to hear that, for example, the player won’t be visiting the facility or throwing privately for its coaching staff.

Fourth, a good agent will study rosters and depth charts and coaching staffs and schemes, identifying the best destination for the player’s short-term and long-term interests and embark on a plan to get him there.

In the aftermath of Super Bowl LII, many in the media talked about Eagles quarterback Nick Foles as if he’s going to be a free agent. He won’t.

During a Wednesday visit to PFT Live at the Scouting Combine, Eagles executive V.P. of football operations Howie Roseman made sure there’s no ambiguity on this point.

There is no doubt Americans are craving anything that might bring us together, especially in these divided times, said Mike Mikus, a Democratic political strategist based in Pennsylvania. Despite the many disagreements in politics, people really just want to bond with their neighbors and celebrate things that bring us together.

Unless Mayfield has some previously unknown abilities as a shape-shifter, the slight variance in measurements don’t seem particularly significant. With hours of tape of Mayfield playing football to analyze and the chance to interview Mayfield, other data points will likely determine his landing spot in April.

In New England, he was a piece of Bill Belichick’s carefully intertwined puzzle. With the Giants, Solder will be relied on as the leader of the offensive line and, in some ways, the savior of an offensive line that will have three and possibly four new starters in 2018.

NCAA considers new rule to reduce kickoff returns, which will get the NFL’s attention

The NFL has already followed the NCAA’s lead in changing a kickoff rule once, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see it happen again.

Here’s more from Boone on Ellsbury and Frazier:

Els will be on the trip (Wednesday) … then off (on Friday). Then we have a split-squad (Saturday). Similar situation there (as Thursday). And then we’ll go from there and kind of make a decision exactly which way we’re going to go and kind of map out what his plan will be in the next couple of weeks.

(Frazier) is continuing to do better, so that’s a good thing. The doctor has been here every day, so it’s been hands on with our neurologist. It’s obviously something we’re being very cautious with. We listen to the player a lot and all I can tell you is he continues to improve and we feel some momentum is starting to build and hopefully the baseball activities start ramping up. It’s something to treat conservatively, but he is getting better every day it seems like. I’m hoping baseball activities are almost upon us and it’s just how he progresses. The first time they started to ramp him up it seemed like he had a little bit of a setback. They had to back him off a little bit. So it’s going to be baby steps along the way just to see what he can truly handle.

The old-school GM who had vowed to kick ass on the day he was introduced had his ass kicked when the free-agent frenzy began in earnest.

From hog mollies to hog follies.

Until the old-school GM kicked ass on Wednesday.

Bet on this: The days of the New York Football Giants being bullied are over.

Gettleman absolutely overpaid for Nate Solder (four years, $62 million) in making him the highest-paid left tackle in the game, but try telling that to Eli Manning. Who maybe would have thrown in a couple hundred thousand dollars if it meant sealing the deal.

Solder is 29, coming off a subpar year, but even in his sleep is better at protecting his quarterback’s blind side than Ereck Flowers. How do you suppose Tom Brady would have liked standing behind Flowers for the last three years?

The Vikings have felt good about running back Dalvin Cook’s outlook for the 2018 season for a while and coach Mike Zimmer said Thursday that Cook may not wind up missing much offseason work after tearing his ACL last year.

Nevertheless, if the Jets pick the right quarterback and he ends the 40-year search for the next Joe Namath, no one will remember what the franchise gave up to get him.

The Jets also had to make an aggressive move like this because the division-rival Bills are also trying to move up in the draft to get a quarterback. The Jets made that harder for them.

Now, Maccagnan must find the right guy, something no one with the Jets has done since Sonny Werblin in 1965 when he signed Namath. Maccagnan has whiffed on Bryce Petty and Christian Hackenberg already in the draft and the team has played with Band-Aid quarterbacks Ryan Fitzpatrick and McCown during the three years under Maccagnan/Todd Bowles.

We’ve played this tag game for a couple years now it seems like, and I think it’s time to get some stability at the most important position in sports, and that’s quarterback, Gruden said, via Kimberley Martin of the Washington Post. It’s very important for us to move forward and let Kirk move on.

If Washington’s not a place that he wanted to be, it’s time for us to move on and get some continuity there at quarterback.

That continuity will come thanks to the four-year deal they’ve agreed to with Smith, and though Gruden wouldn’t refer to him by name, we’re all adults here and know what’s going on.

It means a lot, Gruden said of the Smith deal. Not just for me, but it means a lot for the team and the organization. Knowing where we are and who we’re going to prepare with for the next three, four years. It’s an important process for us to have the quarterback in a position where he can grow with the football team, we can grow with him and move on.

Soon enough, Gruden will be able to say Smith’s name, and Cousins will be very rich someplace other than Washington.